the "cheap move" and "classless" part of your post above has been the focus of many of us who've filled threads with posts about our distaste for francis over this issue.
no it wasn't cool....not at all...nor was it cool when elway did it. or manning. francis has paid a cost for it around the league. honestly, i've been through this argument so many times in the past couple of days....just look back through these threads...i've posted a lot on this issue, along with many others.
if you told me, as a 1L...that I had a better chance of not passing the bar exam than passing it...i'd say, "you can keep it then..i'm not buying." way too much time and work for that.
Freak, I think you are missing the point with regards to the difference because you are confusing the sequence of events. McGrady did not say "I only want Houston" NOW, but he informed his team that after his current contract term is up, he will not re-sign with them. They then make it clear that they want to trade him. To trade him, they need to find a contract partner. No partner will want to give up a lot of value for him, UNLESS they get a reassurance that he will re-sign. This is the moment when McGrady gets leverage and when he says "I will only assure that I will re-sign if it is Houston" and that is what puts Orlando in a tough spot. If McGrady had said "I don't care about my current contract, I only want Houston NOW", you would be right. Because it is not that way, you are wrong .
Oh my goodness, I would not have thought that it was THAT bad. Anyway, overall bar pass rates in NY are much lower than in Texas, it seems...IIRC, it was like 66 % in summer and about 50 % in winter (because there were more repeaters). Obviously, for foreigners, it is that much tougher because they only had one year of US law, often in other states (like me), and they also have the language issue. I think NY and CA are the only states where foreigners can take the bar exam with only an LL.M. degree (= 1 year of US law).
The difference b/t the two players here is that one wants to stay and honor his contract, and the other is trying to get moved. Francis signed his contract with HOUSTON. He is honoring that deal by wanting to stay with Houston. If you're upset that Francis is trying to sabotage this trade, you should have been against his acquisition in the first place- if not, just admit you're a hypocrite. He did the exact same thing to Vancouver and most people were cool with it.
Before we cannonize McGrady, remember that his refusal to consider re-signing meant he was no longer such an attraction to Orlando fans, especially as he said he wanted out, rather than he was prepared to test free-agency (a la Kobe) but would consider Orlando. Also, if i understand correctly, the team he's traded to will be able to give him much more money than a team he walks to after his contract expires. So he gets out of Orlando a year early, and gets more cash to boot. So he isn't quite a pure as we're making out -- but he is honouring his contract. But Max is right. If Steve really wanted to control his destiny, he could have signed one-year contracts and assumed the risk of getting hurt, or a smaller future payouts. Instead, he choose the security of the max deal, and agreed to be bound by its terms. One of those terms was the very real possibility of being traded. (it's not like there have never been any trades in the NBA). I expect Steve's comments have been blown way out of proportion. Deal's probably made, and those in the know are laughing as we fret over issues that have long been resolved. Guess we'll have to wait a couple of more weeks.
Far be it from me to defend what he did to Vancouver, but he technically wasn't under contract to the Grizzlies, and could have sat out the year, had he chosen. Still think he was a little prick for what he did, but it's not quite a direct comparison.
You know as well as the rest of us that McGrady didn't ask for a trade so much as the Magic asked him if he was opting out. Wiesbrod publicly stated that he was going to force McGrady's hand by asking McGrady if he was going to opt out and re-sign. If McGrady wavered on whether or not he was going to re-sign, then McGrady would be traded. Wiseguy publicly challenged McGrady about the opt-out. After the season, McGrady met with ownership, said he would opt out, so now they are trading him. So again: McGrady is honoring his contract. The Magic are trying to move him while they can get value for him. As for Francis, it would be nice if he would honor his contrat by doing as his coaches ask him. I haven't heard anything about players having "play how I want to play" clauses in their contracts. But I ain't mad at him. He is who he is. He came here pouting, so I am not surprised that he is leaving here pouting. Shouldn't you be happy anyway? Doesn't this make Rudy T's firing/backstabbing look worse? Afterall, if Francis was gonna get shipped, then it wasn't all Rudy. Or have you found something new to harp on?
In a normal work environment, you would be right, but I think it is part of NBA contracts that you are actually in some funny way employed "by the NBA" in a sense that you do not only have a contract with the team you originally sign the contract with that would entitle you to demand to stay with that team, but also an overriding obligation to play for whatever team the original contract is transferred to. Note that I am speaking in layman's terms here, not in legal terms. For the above mentioned reasons, this is incorrect. I'm not really upset. I was not against the acquisition in the first place, even though I think what he did was wrong. Does that make me a hypocrite? Maybe, but that's a fan's prerogative to a certain degree . That aside, it was not exactly the same thing, since he never had a contract with Vancouver. I understand that once you agree to enter the draft, you also agree to play for whatever team drafts you (you probably have to sign something for that as well), so yes, it is similar, the only difference being that you have not actually entered an employment contract yet, just agreed to enter into one with the team that drafts you if you intend to play in the NBA.
When you enter the draft, don't you have the option to sit out 1 year and re-enter the draft a year later (for whatever reason such as not liking the team that drafts you)? Isn't that what Francis was threatening to do?
Everyone needs to re-read this post, because this is exactly the case. You're right Freak, everyone in here is pretty much a hypocrite.
I don't know, but from the article you posted, that is only possible if the team that drafted the player agrees to that. I think without that, the player would have to sit out longer than a year; the team has the rights to him for a longer time. Others know this stuff a lot better than me, so I am just going from what the article says and what I think must be the rules if you apply common sense (I think otherwise more people would just sit out one year if they get drafted by the Clippers or so ).
Fine, so if everyone in here is a hypocrite, why do you keep coming back to the place? Maybe Clutch should put you out of your misery then? Care to address the points in my reply to TheFreak instead?
Here is something ESPN claimed last year when it looked like Lebron would refuse to play for the Cavs: A team that drafts a player in the first round owns that player's rights until next year's draft if the team makes the player an offer by July 15. If the player does not sign, he can re-enter the draft and can be selected by any team. If this is true, then what Francis did to Vancouver was well within his rights (so long as he had a contract offer)?
Yes, looks like you are right. I am actually surprised that not more players just sit out a year, then, but on the other hand, they would leave guaranteed money on the table, so common sense actually says they would have a high risk if they did that, especially since they still don't know if they get drafted by an even worse team or the same team the year after. Section 3.Negotiating Rights to Draft Rookies. (a) A Team that drafts a player shall, during the period from the date of such NBA Draft (hereinafter the "Initial Draft") to the date of the next Draft (hereinafter the "Subsequent Draft"), be the only Team with which such player may negotiate or sign a Player Contract, provided that, on or before the July 15 immediately following the Initial Draft (for a First Round Pick), or on or in the two (2) weeks before the September 5 immediately following the Initial Draft (for a Second Round Pick), such Team has made a Required Tender to such player. If a Team has made a Required Tender to such a player and the player has not signed a Player Contract within the period between the Initial Draft and the Subsequent Draft, the Team that drafts the player shall lose its exclusive right to negotiate with the player and the player will then be eligible for selection in the Subsequent Draft. (b) A Team that, in the Subsequent Draft, drafts a player who (i) was drafted in the Initial Draft, (ii) received a Required Tender from the Team that drafted him in the Initial Draft, and (iii) did not sign a Player Contract with such first Team prior to the Subsequent Draft, shall, during the period from the date of the Subsequent Draft to the date of the next NBA Draft, be the only Team with which such player may negotiate or sign a Player Contract, provided such Team has made a Required Tender. If such player has not signed a Player Contract within the period between the Subsequent Draft and the next NBA Draft with the Team that drafted him in the Subsequent Draft, that Team shall lose its exclusive right, which it obtained in the Subsequent Draft, to negotiate with the player, and the player will become a Rookie Free Agent as of the date of the next NBA Draft. (c) If a player is drafted in an Initial Draft and (i) receives a Required Tender, (ii) does not sign a Player Contract with a Team prior to the Subsequent Draft, and (iii) is not drafted by any Team in such Subsequent Draft, the player will become a Rookie Free Agent immediately upon the conclusion of the Subsequent Draft. (d) If a player is drafted by a Team in either an Initial or Subsequent Draft and that Team does not make a Required Tender to such player, the player will become a Rookie Free Agent on the July 16 following such Draft (for a First Round Pick) or on the September 6 following such Draft (for a Second Round Pick). (e) A Team may at any time withdraw a Required Tender it has made to a player, provided that the player agrees in writing to the withdrawal. In the event that a Required Tender is withdrawn, the player shall thereupon become a Rookie Free Agent. (f) A Team that holds the exclusive rights to negotiate with and sign a drafted player may at any time renounce such exclusive rights, except that, if the Team has made a Required Tender to the player, a renunciation shall not be permitted during the time the player has been given to accept the Required Tender. In order to renounce its exclusive rights with respect to a drafted player, a Team shall provide the NBA with an express, written statement renouncing such exclusive rights. The NBA shall provide a copy of such statement to the Players Association within three (3) business days following its receipt thereof. http://www.nbpa.com/cba/articleX.html#section3
Regardless of whether or not you were OK with the Francis-Vancouver deal, it's still hypocritical to say that McGrady is justified and within his rights to demand a trade while UNDER CONTRACT (be it a year or 6 years) but Francis is unprofessional to make his own demands about where he wants to be traded also while under contract.
Unless Im mistaken, McGrady hasn't demanded a trade. He simply said that he won't be resigning and Orlando is making the decision to trade him.
